Thanks so much for asking about Jake (he came into rescue just Jake, I added the "Ryan". (I mean, wouldn't you??)

He is settling in really well, getting more and more comfortable. He was vetted and has some dental issues that we need to take care of but overall his health is good. AND, there is an applicant who is interested in meeting him. So he could be moving on soon. But if it falls through, he has a forever home just waiting for him....with me!

Here is a video of the macaw playing on the bathroom towel shelf. We have no idea why this is fun or even how he gets up there. I also have videos of. Molly eating strawberries, a ting, and talking in her dark cage. You can hear her squeaky little "kiss kiss" and a few other things.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/9JwsSUIvKEM[/youtube]

[youtube]9JwsSUIvKEM[/youtube]

I give up. I do not know how to embed videos.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

I know I mentioned Linus the blind kitten somewhere. Turns out he's not just blind but brain damaged as well. We might adopt him because he's going to be impossible to find a home for (he doesn't use the litter box consistently and probably never will.)

_________________If a milkshake is going to change the world then it should be at least be an Oreo one. - daisychain

Lavawitch, so can you interpret the macaw's body language in that video? When my dad's macaw crouched like that and sort of bit at stuff around him I felt like it was aggressive. Then again, the macaw had major issues with me, so every action could be interpreted as aggressive.

Even though I lived with birds most of my life, I felt like I never understood them and I'd like to try.

Hmm. Well, it can be aggressive, but it's also excitement. I would not go up and try to pick him up from there because he doesn't want to leave his towel rack until he is ready. He started doing the beak bobbing and wing movements when I waved at him, so that's just excitement/responding to stimulus.

With macaws a lot of play behaviors can seem similar to aggressive behaviors so the best way to tell is the eyes. If the eyes pin and dilate, that is usually aggression but not always. He does the same eye pinning and beak bobbing thing on my hand as a sign of affection, but can get rough even though he means to be sweet. T

He will defend a play area and can be territorial, but otherwise he isn't generally very aggressive as long as you can read his body language. I think you really just have to know the bird.

Molly is easier. Her play behaviors are usually just goofy. When she is aggressive she gets a very flat head and does a wide legged strut and everybody needs to be very scared. She is the scariest bird in the house, but I can call her bluff by picking her up in a towel and telling her to stop being stupid. Then she turns into a cooing cuddle puddle.

But since the macaw is clamoring to get in the damn bathroom every morning now, I have to assume he is having fun in there. We do not understand why this is fun, but we are humoring him. The cockatiel now follows him in and sits on the show rod, watching him.

I wish I could explain better. I just know I guess? Like this morning be came flying at my feet and I knew he was going to attack so I threw my pajama pants on him so I could pick him up without injury. As soon as I covered him, he laughed. Other times, he will do the same flying at my feet thing and. I can just block and pick him up. I'm not sure how I know.

Tl;dr birds are weird. Severe macaws are especially weird. They seem to have foot fetishes, but are generally very feisty (the little macaws all are) so play can get rough but they are not mean spirited birds (like scarlet macaws--those birds are so cantankerous and not good companions at all).

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

That's funny, I was just thinking how terrible she looks in those pictures. She is shedding her winter coat piece by piece and it's driving me nuts! She needs a nice warm bath and brush out to get rid of the rest of her undercoat.

That's funny, I was just thinking how terrible she looks in those pictures. She is shedding her winter coat piece by piece and it's driving me nuts! She needs a nice warm bath and brush out to get rid of the rest of her undercoat.

Tegan is a perfect snowflake.

(Every time I see you've posted in this thread my brain is all Stop! Tegan time!)

That's funny, I was just thinking how terrible she looks in those pictures. She is shedding her winter coat piece by piece and it's driving me nuts! She needs a nice warm bath and brush out to get rid of the rest of her undercoat.

Tegan is a perfect snowflake.

(Every time I see you've posted in this thread my brain is all Stop! Tegan time!)

Our sweet cockatiel, Nef(ret). She is 18! She really is the sweetest bird ever. Bossy though. She has been having the hardest time missing my dad. She tends to be a little aloof but is always close and likes to know her flock is in order.

That's funny, I was just thinking how terrible she looks in those pictures. She is shedding her winter coat piece by piece and it's driving me nuts! She needs a nice warm bath and brush out to get rid of the rest of her undercoat.

Nah, she's fluffy and adorable. A perfect snowflake as M. Teacup points out. Yesterday I finally gave my two a bath and was all "huh, so this is what clean dog fur feels like." (I swear I'm not a negligent mom, but the girls' bathroom has been under construction and thus out of commission, much to their delight.)